the arts
The Liberal & Civic Studies Program recognizes the arts as vital and integral elements in our lives and in the life of our society. The Program promotes an awareness and understanding of the arts (theater, music, painting, sculpture, dance) in the following ways:
- All Liberal & Civic Studies students are required to take at least 1 full-credit course in the history, philosophy, or aesthetics of art, theater, music, dance, or film;
- All L&CS students are required to take a full- or partial-credit studio, production, or presentation course in the fine or performing arts: e.g., Art 10: Beginning Sculpture; Music 12: Applied Music; HPE&R 5: Dance.
- In Forum 1, students participate in selected arts events, e.g., attending on-campus plays, concerts, or visiting Saint Mary's art gallery. Discussion and journal entries ask students to integrate these arts experiences with the other themes of the course.
- In Forum 2, students attend arts events off campus.
- In Senior Forum, students explore the significance of art, in relation to course themes of "Nature," The Sacred," and "Gender." In addition, students experience 3 types of artistic expressions, and integrate these experiences with class readings and discussions. In Senior Forum, students explore democratic art forms, such as mural art, and experience a slide show and lecture by a guest artist.
- L&CS students are encouraged to take Praxis: Art, a .25 credit course that enables students to continue and deepen their experiences in the arts by attending plays or concerts, visiting museums, or studying films of recognized merit.
In choosing electives, Liberal & Civic Studies students are also encouraged to consider courses in the arts, especially courses that relate to the themes of the Program, such as:
Art and Diversity
- African American Dramatists (English 183)
- Dance International (Dance 20)
- Jazz and Blues in America (Music 113)
- Music of the World's Peoples (Music 14)
Art and Experiential Learning (action and reflection)
- Bay Area Theater (Theater 135)
- Dance in Performance (Dance 125)
- Music in Performance (Music 115)
- SMArts (.25 credit)
